Re Election

Four of the five incumbent city commissioners have qualified to seek re- election in October.Mayor Nick Fortunato and commissioners Bill Callam, Regina Demming and Joe Thompson were the first candidates when a two-week qualifying period began Friday. Ted Porter has indicated he will seek re-election but could not be reached Friday.The general election is Oct. 29 but may not be necessary after the Oct. 15 primary. In Ormond Beach, all candidates must run in the primary, with a runoff for the top vote-getters in contests with more than two candidates.

TALLAHASSEE - As Gov. Rick Scott tours the state this week honoring military veterans, he is honoring a bloc of voters that could help in his difficult re-election fight. Scott, who served in the Navy, created the Governor's Veterans Service Award in March and is handing them out to hundreds of veterans during events that started Monday and end Thursday, the day before Fourth of July. The outreach has not been limited to giving the award. On Tuesday, Scott's campaign released a web video with a veteran talking about the state's "vet-friendly" environment and why he's supporting the governor.

CLERMONT - After almost 16 years as mayor, Hal Turville said Monday that he won't seek re-election this year. The 67-year-old Turville, who has served as mayor since 1998 and previously on the City Council from 1981 to 1994, said it's time to step back and take a break. "I have been involved for a very, very long time, and it's time for me to get out there and try to enjoy myself a little bit," he said. "I've contemplated this for probably three or four years, and I think it's time to lighten my load.

Good luck keeps bouncing Teresa Jacobs' way. The only candidate the Orange County mayor faced for re-election on the August 26 primary ballot has been disqualified from running. Dunel A. Cadely bounced the $6,118 check he submitted for a qualifying fee, meaning he can no longer run for mayor, said Election Supervisor Bill Cowles. That means Jacobs faces only write-in candidate Jeffrey Clyde Tepper. And because just two candidates technically remain in the race, Jacobs' name will now appear on the Nov. 4 ballot next to an empty write-in space.

CLERMONT - City Council member Ray Goodgame easily fended off a pair of challengers today to win re-election to another two-year term. One of the council's most vocal members, Goodgame, 80, avoided a Nov. 5 runoff by winning a majority of the vote for Seat 2. He received 57 percent of the vote. Trailing him were former council member Gail Ash with 34 percent and Thomas Spencer, who also lost a council bid last year, with 9 percent. First elected in 2004, Goodgame said an economic upswing could mean good things for Lake County's largest city, population 30,000.

Seminole County Judge Ralph Eriksson is running for re-election. Eriksson, 62, of Longwood, is about to be publicly reprimanded by the Florida Supreme Court for misdeeds, and three other lawyers have already entered the race. Still, Eriksson joined the race Friday, according to Seminole County Elections Supervisor Michael Ertel. Eriksson has been a county judge, serving in Sanford, for 15 years. Last year, he was found guilty of judicial misconduct folllowing a trial in Sanford by the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the state agency that polices judges.

Attorney Rulon Munns says he's left the local political sidelines and signed on to help lead the last big fundraising event of the year for Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. Munns has a long legal and spiritual tie to the Mormon church, which owns the nearly 295,000-acre Deseret Ranches in Central Florida. Though it's often kept a low local political profile, the church's Deseret Ranches will have a sizable say on some of the region's future water, road, rail and development issues.

Rick Scott was a first-time candidate when he was elected Florida's governor in 2010, and he's struggled with low voter approval ratings. But Florida's economy has been looking up under his leadership. Jobs have expanded in 23 of the last 25 months, the state's real-estate market is on the mend, and tourists are back in huge numbers. Will voters give Scott credit for these positive developments next year and re-elect him? Should they? Or does President Obama deserve more credit for the economic upturn in Florida?

TAVARES – A lot of people in Lake County have been waiting for Cindy Barrow to decide whether she'd be running for a second term on the School Board. The waiting is over. Barrow announced via e-mail that she will not seek re-election. She says she wants to commit more time to her family in Clermont and building her practice as a mental-health therapist. Besides, she has said the school district is in better shape today than it was when she joined the School Board three years ago. Barrow, who became the board's chairwoman a few months ago, said in her e-mail announcement: "Lake County Schools has a wonderful Superintendent and administration!

TALLAHASSEE - As Gov. Rick Scott tours the state this week honoring military veterans, he is honoring a bloc of voters that could help in his difficult re-election fight. Scott, who served in the Navy, created the Governor's Veterans Service Award in March and is handing them out to hundreds of veterans during events that started Monday and end Thursday, the day before Fourth of July. The outreach has not been limited to giving the award. On Tuesday, Scott's campaign released a web video with a veteran talking about the state's "vet-friendly" environment and why he's supporting the governor.

CLERMONT - After almost 16 years as mayor, Hal Turville said Monday that he won't seek re-election this year. The 67-year-old Turville, who has served as mayor since 1998 and previously on the City Council from 1981 to 1994, said it's time to step back and take a break. "I have been involved for a very, very long time, and it's time for me to get out there and try to enjoy myself a little bit," he said. "I've contemplated this for probably three or four years, and I think it's time to lighten my load.

Former Orlando police Chief Val Demings stunned political observers Tuesday by abruptly ending her campaign to unseat Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, saying that it was "not the right race at this time. " Those politically close to Demings could only speculate why she left the race, but most agreed it likely cinches Jacobs re-election. No other serious candidate has emerged so far for the Aug. 26 mayor's primary. After confirming Demings' exit, a surprised Jacobs called a news conference to say she would still run hard for re-election.

WASHINGTON — Despite all the complaining about Congress, qualifying has ended for the fall elections without a single major challenger for any of Central Florida's five members of the U.S. House. For proof, look no further than federal fundraising reports. The combined cash-on-hand of Central Florida's five incumbents was nearly $1.8 million as of March 31, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. The 19 opponents aligned against them, meanwhile, combined have less than $200,000.

This week is an edgy one for some circuit and county judges across Florida. A third face re-election, and anyone wanting to challenge them at the ballot box must file by noon Friday. News that could help or hurt their chances came last week: The Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released its annual poll, rating the job performance of judges who handle criminal cases. Most of the judges in the poll who are facing re-election this year were rated "satisfactory" or "good," based on a five-point system, with five being "excellent.

There are good and dedicated men and women in both political parties who are well-meaning, with amazing intellect, insight, experience and wisdom. Working together, for our common good, there is very little that these men and women cannot accomplish. Working against each other, there is very little that they can accomplish. Unfortunately, these men and women are stymied at every turn by their parties. The shame is that the parties prevent these men and women from exercising their genius.

Diana Moore, head of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, has been re-elected to another two-year term, according to unofficial results. Moore, who bargains on behalf of the district's more than 13,000 teachers, beat out two challengers. Of the just more than 6,000 union members eligible to vote, fewer than 1,000 did. "It was shocking – so much apathy," said Glyniss Hudson, who finished second in the race for president with 334 votes, well behind Moore's 524 votes.

Before she was elected Orange County mayor, Teresa Jacobs pushed to ban corporate political donations and stop supporters from pooling their money beyond the $500 individual-donor limit. Jacobs lost the fight for those reforms - and now she plans to employ those strategies when she kicks off her 2014 re-election fundraising campaign May 30 . For her campaign - "Smart. Tough. Making a difference" - consultants for Jacobs have identified more than $300,000 in potential contributions from tourism and development circles, and others - such as key figures in the $1.1 billion downtown-venues deal and from opponents of a paid sick-time proposal.

In what Mayor Kenneth Bradley called democracy in action, the swearing in ceremony for two newly re-elected city commissioners became very much a family affair. At the start of Monday's city commission meeting, Commissioners Sarah Sprinkel and Steve Leary took the oath of office for the second time. Sprinkel took the oath as it was read by her husband, Orange County Judge George Sprinkel. When Leary stepped up to take the oath, it was read by his young son, William. Standing at the podium, William Leary drew the warm applause from the audience in the commission chambers when he briefly paused, then noticed there was one last sentence in the oath.

Rick Roach, the longest-serving school board member in Orange County, is not running for another term. Roach, whose campaign against standardized testing has reached beyond Central Florida, said he wants to dedicate himself full time to those efforts. "I've got an eye peeled on getting closer to where the decisions are made - in Tallahassee. There are a lot of folks up there who could benefit from some more insight into education," said Roach, who has been on the school board for 16 years.